Barrow Media Center

Tag Archives: STEAM

We returned from fall break this year on Halloween. The kids were of course pulsing with energy as they awaited a night of trick or treating, so we held a special makerspace session to harness their energy and have some fun. Gretchen Thomas and I already wanted to try something a little different on Halloween for makerspace. When her group of UGA students started investigating Halloween and fall themed makerspace activities, they asked if they all could come instead of just one small group. So…half of her class came at 11:00 and half came at 11:30 and we added extra slots to our signup sheet. We had anywhere from 25-40 students who signed up for each session.

Students made 3-dimensional ghosts out of paper and launched them into the air by putting them onto the end of a straw and blowing. Many students adjusted their ghost design or tried different techniques for launching.

Catapults

Students used Popsicle sticks, spoons, and rubber bands to create catapults that would launch pom pom balls into the air. A Halloween treat bucket was the target, but students also loved becoming the target themselves. This was a rowdy but fun center, and once again, we saw students adjust their designs for a better launch or even build catapults that would launch 3 pom poms at a time.

Leaf Chromatography

Students folded coffee filters into triangular shapes and colored them with markers to make a color pattern. Then, they dipped the filters into water to see how the colors would move across the coffee filter. This center needed a drying area since each filter was very wet after the activity.

Students used a variety of supplies to design their own monsters. This included cupcake wrappers, pipe cleaners, eye stickers, pom poms, glue dots, and more. The thing I loved the most about this center was the character traits that each monster developed. Many students described their monsters in great detail as they worked and developed an impromptu story about each one. Again, students would look at their design and think about what they could add. Some even created parts of their monsters that moved so that they truly came to life.

Haunted House Construction

Students used Strawbees and straws to construct haunted houses. This center evolved as we went, and many students started building other things along the way too. For example, a student built a bird cage with a perch, but the bird was invisible because it was a ghost. Another student build a table-length monster and we talked about how he could have added paper onto his Strawbee skeleton to make a complete monster.

There was a lot of energy, noise, and fun during this makerspace, but it was so organized and focused. Students were engaged the entire time and had many options of what to go to. I wouldn’t run makerspace like this every time, but it was a great alternative to get more kids into the space and meet a variety of needs. Thank you Gretchen Thomas and UGA students for an awesome day of learning and fun.

A goal I’ve been trying to achieve for awhile in our makerspace is to have ongoing individualized projects. In the fall of this year, the media specialists started brainstorming having a district maker faire to showcase projects from all of our schools. In the spring, Gretchen Thomas, had over 30 students in her UGA class that collaborates with our makerspace. Normally, 4 students from Gretchen’s class come to our makerspace on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but with 30 students, it would be hard for her students to make it to our school multiple times. We started pondering this new dilemma and realized that Gretchen’s dilemma aligned with my long-term goal.

Gretchen divided her class in half. Half of her students continued Tuesday/Thursday makerspace times, and the other half became maker faire mentors on either Tuesdays or Thursday. I gathered students who were interested in making something for maker faire and put them into a Tuesday or Thursday group. Gretchen did the same with her students.

At the first meeting, Gretchen’s students learned more about what students were wanting to make. I supported these conversations too, and we started gathering materials students needed for projects. Each Tuesday and Thursday since February, these maker faire students have worked on an individual project while regular makerspace continued to run simultaneously. It was loud and chaotic but productive. Our makerspace storage also became very unorganized and I realized that I have a lot of work to do in order to store multiple on-going projects.

During our very first school maker faire, we setup tables around the library to showcase projects. I created a schedule for teachers to signup to bring their class. Some times classes came and walked through to look. Later in the day, the maker students were at their tables to demonstrate their products and answer questions. Again, this was loud and chaotic, but it was organized and productive.

Many kids found ideas that they were excited about and wanted to try out. Many kids got to test some of the products that were made. Gretchen’s entire class also came during the day to listen to students talk about their projects, keep tables organized, and introduce students to Ozobots and Cubelets. As usual, miraculous moments happened throughout the day.

Here are a few:

Dominique developed her leadership skills as she ran the robotics table for most of the day. Two students who had made robots were unable to come, so she stepped up and demonstrated their robots for them and kept the table orderly and made sure people had a turn to try out driving a Finch robot.

Throughout the day, his personality seemed to develop on its own as kids began to talk about Bob Jello rather than just talking about a robot. Before we knew it, the other robots had been deemed the “evil kitties” and a battle ensued between Bob Jello and the kitties. Students were huddled up cheering on the robots and it had me thinking about how much we could do with storytelling and robotics.

My daughter, Alora, made a butterfly sculpture with a 3Doodler pen. She taught group after group about how the pens worked and managed kids taking turns and making very small sculptures. It was fun to see her as a 1st grader teaching kids in much older grades.

Several students made projects with their dads, and it was fun to watch the students share about their work with others. Patrick’s dad came and presented alongside him to talk about catapult gliders. They had a tri-board, video, and several models. It was a popular table that many students were interested in exploring.

Linden had a freestyle Tic Tac Toe game he made with his dad, and we loved learning the story of how the game originated at a restaurant table using sugar and sweet n low packets.

Finally, Forrest made documentary with his dad about Zepplins. This is a topic that many kindergarten students might not take on, but Forrest was super knowledgeable and shared his expertise along with playing his video.

Josie had made a robot from carboard and duct tape, and she really wanted to make it move. She used littebits and fishing line to make its arms move up and down. Rather than just sit at the table the whole time talking, Josie worked! She continuously made improvements to her design so that the arms would move more and more. Students started giving her ideas of what she might do next, and she may even attempt that soon.

Our intern, Jen Berry, worked with four 1st graders to submit maker projects, and all four of them had projects that were of high interest to visitors. Many students wanted to make their own terrarium after seeing Zarema’s 2-liter bottle terrarium.

Last minute entries rolled in like Aley’s handmade wooden guitar he is using for his music project.

It was so hard to capture every moment. It was so exhausting, and I’m already thinking about how I will organize it differently next year to involve more students and more classes touring the projects, while also calling on more volunteers to give me a bit more sanity.

Many of these projects will now be showcased at our district maker faire which will take place on Saturday April 1 from 2-4:30PM at Clarke Central High School. I highly encourage you to attend if you can. There will be over 100 makers featured from Prek-12th grade. It’s a great opportunity to see the amazing creativity we have in our district.

I’m so thankful for Gretchen and her students for supporting our students. It is a great collaboration that benefits many student voices. Thank you Gretchen for staying most of the day to help and to Jen Berry for jumping in the chaos and helping the day be a success.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. We are so fortunate to have the University of Georgia right next to our school and even more fortunate to have instructors like Gretchen Thomas who collaborate with local schools. Gretchen and I have been collaborating for about 3 years now, and each year we try some new things. We’re always looking for ways to improve the makerspace time at our school as well as the opportunities available to students.

Gretchen teaches an undergraduate course at UGA all related to maker education, design thinking, STEAM, and more. Every Tuesday and Thursday, at least 4 of her students come to our library to work with students who sign up for our open makerspace time.

This semester we are once again trying something new. Rather than try to do something new on Tuesday and Thursday, students sign up for a 2-day makerspace that gives them time to work toward finishing a project rather than feeling rushed. In addition, we are thinking about design challenges as well as seeking solutions to authentic problems.

This week, we had our first UGA group of the semester and they offered a chariot building design challenge. Students had access to Strawbees, popsicle sticks, cups, straws, tape, paper, scissors, and anything else in our maker supply cart. Students from 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade came to the sessions.

The UGA group started out my explaining what a chariot is. Then, they gave students the task. Design a chariot that can be pulled by a Sphero robot. Students grouped themselves in groups of 2-4 and brainstormed designs on paper.

Next, students started construction of their chariots. There was a lot of trial and error during this process. Designs on paper didn’t always translate to physical designs so adjustments were made. The UGA students also got out some Spheros so students could check their design to make sure the Sphero fit in the right places. No driving was done on day 1.

Students left their designs on the table in the makerspace so they were ready for day 2. On day 2, students finished designs and began testing their work with a Sphero. Most designs did not work out on the first try, so students brainstormed modifications and got to work. I loved listening to their thought process in deciding what was problematic and how they could fix that aspect of the design.

I really loved this two-day model because I saw students able to finish a project and actually take time to redesign. Students loved coming to makerspace 2 days during the week rather than just one. We’ll keep considering how this supports students creation and how it might get in the way of opportunities.

I also have a group of students who are wanting to work on individual projects and Gretchen is going to help me pair UGA mentors with these students as a 2nd piece of makerspace.

We’ll see where this goes, but the potential is looking pretty miraculous!

It is time once again for the annual voting on the Barrow Peace Prize. This award was established 3 years ago by our 2nd grade. Each year students select up to 6 nominees from history.

We hold a Google Hangout with the entire 2nd grade to decide what criteria someone must exemplify in order to win the prize. This year, we read the book Peace is an Offering by Annettee LeBox before brainstorming our list on a Google doc.

View videos for each of the nominees. This can be done as a class, individually, and can be shared with anyone you know.

Feel free to click the heart on any video to “like” it because the kids love that!

To vote on the Peace Prize, use the Google form here or on the Smore to select one of the 6 people who you were convinced deserves the prize

Voting will end on February 24th where we will announce the 2017 Barrow Peace Prize in a Skype with Flipgrid. Two 2nd grade students designed a 3D peace prize that was printed on our 3D printer and every student who researched the winner will receive one of the medals along with each 2nd grade classroom.

Thank you for participating in our project, and we can’t wait to see who you pick!

We recently received a Donors Choose grant for an education set of 3Doodler pens. These pens allow you to design 3D sculptures. Think of them as hot glue guns that aren’t quite as hot and have more design control.

The education set is great because it comes with books of design ideas, multiple filament strands, 12 rechargeable pens, and several molds to use for creating pieces.

As soon as the pens arrived, I showed them to our art teacher and let her borrow one of the design books. We didn’t immediately plan a project because many times an idea will appear out of nowhere over time. That’s just what happened. One day I pulled some Carson Ellis books to show to a class and Home was at the top of the stack. Ms. Foretich started looking through the illustrations during BTV and her creative wheels started turning.

Before long, she came back to me with an idea for 5th grade. What if we explored the idea of home with our 5th graders and had them create a sculpture that symbolized what home meant for them? The sculpture would have multiple parts and multiple materials that would come together for one piece of art from each 5th grader. The 3D pens could be a tool that students used to create a part of three-dimensional sculpture. They would also use paper and cardboard along with other art materials. That’s where it started.

We booked multiple times on the library calendar for the project and Ms. Foretich made plans for work that would be done in the art room as well. This week, during art, 5th grade came to the library for the initial lesson. We wanted to use this time to look at Carson’s work as well as read Home.

We looked at a variety of art on her site and in her books.

Students made many noticings such as the mixture of dark and bright colors. They noticed how often times there is a bright color that seems to pop off the page. We also noticed that her work had an embroidered or handmade quality to it as well.

After reading Home, we watched a short video to see Carson’s actual home and hear a bit about the environments she put into the book.

This brought us to a discussion of the word “home”. Most students started by talking about a physical structure, but then Ms. Foretich asked them to think about what they missed when they weren’t at home. This brought many students to bring up things like smells, objects, people, foods, pets, and more. We referenced that in Carson’s video, she zoomed in to things like a fireplace, apples hanging from a tree, chickens strutting through the yard, and a guitar propped against the wall. Ms. Foretich told students she wanted them to stretch the idea of “home” to go beyond the physical structure.

Next, we gave students some planning and exploration time. We split the class in half. One half worked on brainstorming.

They made a list of possible things that represent home and then selected what they would focus on the most for the art piece. They also sketched their image as well as what part of the image they would use the 3Doodler for. This brainstorming step is a step students will continue in the art classroom because they only had enough time to begin their planning.

The other half of the students explored the 3Doodler pens. I showed them the basics of how they worked as well as some examples of things that could be made based on the instructions in the books. Each student got 1 strand of filament to experiment with. I encouraged them to try writing their name or making a cube. Some of them created their own designs as well. Since this was a tinkering session, they did not have to create anything specific. I wanted them to see the possibilities and the limitations of the pens so that they could do better planning back in the art room.

After about 10 minutes, each group switched so that students visited both areas.

We are so excited about the possibilities of this project and the many standards that it will include. I can’t wait to learn more about the students by seeing what represents home for each of them. We will continue to revisit the work of Carson Ellis as we go. Planning will continue in art as well as the creation of the paper and cardboard pieces of the sculpture. Students will return soon to begin working with the 3Doodler pens.

It’s always so much fun to collaborate with art. Ms. Foretich plans the most meaningful projects for our students and I can’t wait for them to get to showcase these in multiple ways at school and in our community.

Our 5th grade is currently studying the impact on American life that several famous inventors had. When I was brainstorming with Shelley Olin, 5th grade social studies teacher, we began to wonder about connections these standards had to makerspace. It started as an idea seed and grew into a set of experiences for all 5th graders to engage in.

I wanted students to put themselves into the shoes of an inventor so that they could begin to understand the perseverance and curiosity that inventors have. We focused on 3 of the inventors: Thomas Edison (electricity), Alexander Graham Bell (communication), and the Wright Brothers (flight).

I prepared 3 centers on electricity, communication, and flight. Each center included a biography about the inventors, instructions for an activity, and a clipboard to leave wisdom for the next group to learn from.

For flight, I selected some paper airplanes that could be made from a full sheet of paper. I also included books about other paper airplanes.

For communication, I created 2 choices. One was to use littlebits to create a tool for communicating using Morse code. I included a buzzer and LED bit as well as button, pulse sensor, and slide dimmer bits. The other experience was to create a tin can phone. I provided coffee cans and cups and various kinds of string.

For electricity, I copied instructions for making a simple paper circuit using a coin battery, led light, and copper tape. I put materials in Ziploc bags so each group would have what they needed to create a circuit. I added extra led lights for tinkering beyond an simple circuit.

It took a long time to prepare all of the materials for 3 back-to-back 5th grade classes. I had to have everything ready for an immediate turn round between classes.

Before coming to the library to engage in some makerspace activities related to these themes, students read about each inventor in textbooks and on PebbleGo. They gave Ms. Olin their top 2 interests out of the 3 themes so that she could put them in groups.

In the library, we started by looking at the littlebits invention cycle. There’s not just one place to start in the cycle and it doesn’t necessarily follow a linear sequence. We talked about how students could start with “create” by following the directions that I had given. Then they could play with their creation and begin to remix ideas to create an improved version or an alternative invention. By the end, I hoped that they would have something to share with the rest of their class or group. It really seemed like it could be linear in talking about it, but I quickly saw that it is very fluid.

After our quick intro, students sorted into their chosen task and got to work. Luckily, Ms. Olin and other collaborative teachers joined the class during this session. At times, we had me and 3 teachers supporting students around the library. It was 3 very different activities, so having the extra support was beneficial.

What I quickly saw was how much students wanted to just jump in and put things together without reading directions. At paper airplanes, students started folding paper in all sorts of folds and testing them out.

At paper circuits, students were sticking down tape and connecting the led to the battery without reading the instructions or even formulating a plan.

At tin can phones, students immediately started connecting cans.

But…as I stepped back and thought about it, isn’t that really what inventors do? They don’t necessarily have a set of instructions to follow. They just try things out to see what happens.

After some initial tinkering, several students did in fact try to read the instructions and many said that they wished they had read them at the beginning. It was an important lesson that we talked about and learned from. It’s hard to read all the instructions before putting something together when all you want is to see the finished product. I do that myself as an adult.

One thing that was really interesting was when students finished their first prototype and they started remixing. One example at the tin can phone center was when 2 groups decided to combine their two phones and see if they could make a four-way call.

At the paper airplane center, students started combining their planes together to see if a combination would create a better flying plane. They were truly embracing the idea of remixing.

When we came back together at the end, I asked students to think about what it was like to be an inventor. We had some great conversation about perseverance, staying calm through frustration, trying again, problem solving, and taking plenty of time to invent. We circled back to our inventors and considered how much time, frustration, and perseverance they each put into their inventions. I think the experience gave the students a greater appreciation for the inventors they were learning about rather than just passively reading about them.

We even had a moment to talk about continuing inventions in our makerspace or at home and entering them into our school maker faire coming soon. I loved how a simple idea from a social studies standard was able to weave together growth mindset, literature, social studies, and makerspace all into one experience.

The University of Georgia is winding down its spring semester, so that means our support for weekly makerspace is also winding down. We only have 3 more weeks of school ourselves. Last year, Gretchen Thomas and I took our makerspace on the road to UGA to introduce random UGA students and visitors to the fun of making and tinkering. We really want to try that idea again, but this year we wondered, “How about a popup makerspace at recess?”.

Many of our students come to makerspace during recess anyway, but some struggle with leaving their friends on the playground. We wondered if having the makerspace on the playground would bring in more students since they could easily run back and play if they wanted to. We also wonder if some students don’t come to makerspace because they are unsure of what happens at it. We thought putting it on the playground would make it much more visible and inviting.

Gretchen and her students planned several stations for students to explore. I also had some students prepare stations. Ahead of the recess makerspace, I advertised to teachers that we would be having the makerspace on the playground from 11AM-12PM. We also mentioned it on our morning broadcast on the day of the event.

Before 11:00 rolled around, we setup tables under the awning and sunshade on the playground and got the stations ready. My students and Gretchen’s students helped make this happen. Before we could even get setup, we already had students coming up from the playground asking if they could try something.

It was wildly popular! There were moments when 2-3 entire classes were descending on the makerspace, but being outside allowed us to spread out and really not worry about the noise. It also helped that Gretchen’s entire UGA class was here o

Students constructed their own bubble wands and then tested them out. Some students chose to make a basic wand with a circle and stem, but as the station went on, we saw students really get creative in trying out different designs from very large shapes to tiny circles. This was also a great station to have outside because we didn’t have to worry about bubble spills. Next time, we will add beading to this center to allow students to personalize their wands. However, I loved that the focus this time was on trying different shapes to see what made the best bubbles.

Station 2:

We marked off an area and put a bucket of sidewalk chalk for students to create their own chalk art on the sidewalk.

Station 3:

Students used marbles, orange cones, duct tape, and pipe insulation to create a marble roller coaster. This station really evolved as time moved on. Students began working in teams to try to make small changes to the pipe insulation to make the marble travel a longer distance. They even started gathering materials from other stations to add to their design, which is just what we want to see makers doing. I was amazed by the teamwork from students in different classes and grades. There’s something about the maker environment that cultivates teamwork.

Students used aluminum foil to build boats and test their floating capability in pans of water. Some students chose very simple designs just because they knew they would float, but other students really pushed their designs to the limit to see how much detail they could add to their boat or how big they could make it before it would sink.

Outside was the perfect place to test paper airplanes. This station allowed students to share their paper airplane building skills and test out to see who could make a plane that could really travel in the wind. We didn’t have any specific instructions or books at this center, so it really did take tinkering or sharing expertise to build the planes.

A group of 5th grade girls setup an art station filled with coloring sheets with dogs and cats. They are leading a changemaker project to encourage people to donate food to a local shelter, and the coloring sheets will eventually be used to help bring awareness to their campaign. Along with this center, students could learn how to draw a dog or cat using a series of circles or go on an observation walk with a 5th grade girl to sketch objects in nature. I think we forget the importance of coloring. Many of us know that adult coloring books are all the rage right now, so it only makes sense that kids are still into coloring too! there’s something soothing about sitting around with friends, pulling out the crayons and color pencils, and focusing on filling in the lines. This proved to be one of the most popular stations at makerspace, so it really made me curious about where we could go with this. My mind was racing about student-designed coloring pages, coloring tablecloths, and more.

A 4th grader and a 2nd grader assisted students in exploring Finch robots. They setup 5 computers, connected the Finch, and introduced students to the Snap program to code the robots. Then, they let students explore coding on their own. The 2 students only jumped in if someone was stuck or had a question about how to start. I loved seeing how 2 students who had spent 10 weeks learning about the Finch could allow people to start from the very beginning without telling them every step to make. They really understood the importance of tinkering and figuring things out for yourself.

As the hour came to a close, we still had a circle of students coloring, and we sadly had to dismantle the roller coaster. The UGA students didn’t want to leave and students were asking if they could miss lunch. Moments like those make it a great day. Now, Gretchen and I have some thinking to do about next year. We have lots of ideas in the works, but I think one of the big things we will think about is how we can take the makerspace on the road around our school. I love having the space and opportunities in the library, but changes in venue bring in new voices. Changes in location also allow us to try things that maybe we wouldn’t try if we were inside. I think we will see a few more popup makerspaces next year. Who knows where we will popup next!